


Chaos

by phantomthief_fee



Series: BATIM Drabbles [6]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically everyone is okay, But everything is chaos after Henry destroys the machine, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2019-08-26 06:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16676452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Henry finally manages to destroy the machine, but doesn't expect what happens afterward.





	1. Chapter 1

So I saw [this](https://islandguardiantapumeme.tumblr.com/post/173693819193/batim-au-where-everyone-is-saved-but-instead-of-a) post from [@islandguardiantapumeme](https://tmblr.co/mkC_ZlkqvOdFr3a-0kWFKsw) , and I knew I had to write it. 

Then I saw [@blastmecaptcha](https://tmblr.co/mYJwx5PKB7uThFtVuo9C4_g) wrote something and it was so good. So now I really want to write it. 

Here's the original [post](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/173840297210/chaos) from Tumblr. 

* * *

Henry let out a sigh of relief as the ink machine gave a last screech, something akin to the scream of a dying animal, and was finally still. He’d done it. The ink machine was no more. Whatever strange magic it had possessed was gone. Now he just needed to get back upstairs and get out. He started to make his way up the stairs, dragging his ax behind him. As he reached Level P, he saw someone stumble out of the room to the left. It was a man wearing a driving cap. He was rather disheveled and Henry didn’t recognize him.

“Who the Hell are you?” The man asked, taking a step towards him. He sounded Irish. Henry didn’t know any Irishmen. For a moment, Henry froze. This could be real, or it could just be a hallucination. He had been breathing in a lot of ink fumes. As the man drew closer, Henry screamed and darted into the Little Miracle Station to his right, slamming the door shut. There had to be a lock on this thing. 

“Hey! Come out! I asked you a question!” The man banged on the door to the station. Henry hunched down, hugging his knees. Maybe if he just stayed there, the man would go away. Unfortunately, the man didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The worst part? More people seemed to be gathering outside the box. 

“What’s going on?” Someone else asked. 

“I got no fucking clue.” The Irish man said. “I asked this bloke who he was and he ran in here.”

“Sir? Are you alright?” Someone else knocked on the box.

“Go away!” Henry pressed himself against the back of the station. 

“Sir, we’re just trying to help you.” The person who knocked said. He had a sort of droll, monotonous voice. “My name is Grant Cohen. Would you mind telling us your name?” Grant Cohen? That was the studio accountant. But…it couldn’t be. 

“Why’re you givin’ your name out?!” The Irish man yelled. “We don’t know him!” 

“Mr. Flynn, please don’t yell,” Grant said. “You’ll startle him.” Henry started to sob quietly. This had to be a dream. He had to be hallucinating. 

.

Joey was stuck. He’d been crawling through the vents, trying to find out where exactly Henry was, when he’d felt the magic of the ink machine fade. Suddenly, he was human again. He was considerably thinner than he’d been prior to becoming the ink demon, which made things easier for shimmying through the vents, but now his clothes were dragging him down. Given that he was much thinner now, his clothing was hanging off his frame, snagging on the edges and getting stuck. He huffed as he tried to drag himself through the vents. He was human again, so that was a plus, but on the other hand, it did mean that Henry had destroyed the machine and the other studio employees were human as well. They probably wouldn’t remember what he’d done to them, but just to be safe he knew he should probably get out and get as far away from the studio as possible. This was going to take some work, though.

.

Suse was woken up by the sound of fighting. 

“Franks, spit it out.” 

“No.”

“Wally, please, it’s unhygienic.”

“It’s mine and I love it.”

Susie sat up, looking around blearily. She was sitting in the middle area of the haunted house ride with a samurai sword at her side. A few feet away, Allison and Thomas were desperately trying to get Wally to spit out a…bone?

“Is that…a human bone?” Susie asked, blinking. Everyone turned to look at her. 

“Hi, Miss Campbell.” Allison smiled nervously. “How…How’s it going?”

“My chest kind of hurts, but I think I’m alright.” Susie returned the expression wearily. She should have treated Allison better. The girl really wasn’t that bad. She shouldn’t have been so cruel to Allison. Girls had to stick together. 

“Are you still…mad at me?” Allison asked, wandering over to where Susie was laying down. “I really am sorry about taking your role. I didn’t mean to-” 

“Sweetie, it’s alright.” Susie pulled her into a hug. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing. It wasn’t your fault Joey gave you the role. I shouldn’t have taken things as far as I did.” She didn’t remember everything she’d done to Allison, but she knew she’d been a bitch. “I’m so sorry, Allison.” 

“You…You really mean it?” Allison’s whole face lit up. 

“I do.” Susie nodded, pulling away. “I’ve been terrible to you.” 

“You have n-no idea how much this means to me.” Allison started to sniffle. “I always admired you, Miss Campbell. I just wanted your approval.”

“Oh, Allison.” Susie smiled softly.

“No way.” Wally’s mouth hung open and the bone dropped to the ground. Thomas scooped it up and stuck it into his pocket. 

“No, wait, give that back!” Wally whined, looking towards Thomas. “It was good!” 

“You don’t know where it’s been,” Thomas said. 

“So, um, how did we get here?” Susie let Allison help her up. “I don’t remember coming down here.” 

“I don’t remember losing my arm, but here we are.” Thomas held up his left arm, revealing it was now replaced by an animatronic arm. 

“Does it hurt?” Susie asked. 

“Nah.” Thomas shrugged slightly. Wally was trying to get the bone out of the other man’s pocket, but Thomas swatted his hand away. Wally legitimately made a doglike whimpering sound. They could almost see his ears drooping. Allison couldn’t help but giggle. Susie joined in. 

“Let’s get out of here, alright?” She suggested. “Maybe someone else knows what’s going on.” 

“Sure, why not?” Thomas headed for the door, which had a hole in it the size of a bumper car. As Susie looked around, the destruction was plain. It looked like some kind of fight had taken place there. Allison latched herself onto Susie’s arm, delighted that the two of them had made up. Wally followed behind Thomas, trying to get at the bone in Thomas’ pocket. Eventually, the other mechanic just gave up and handed it over, allowing Wally to keep gnawing on it. As they made their way out into the main warehouse, they found Lacie Benton walking out as well. 

“Benton, nice to see you.” Thomas smiled slightly and held out his hand. 

“Thomas Connor. How are you doing, you bastard?” Lacie chuckled and took his hand, shaking it vigorously. 

“Hi, Lacie,” Wally said through his bone. 

“Hello, Franks.” Lacie nodded in his direction. “What’s with the bone?”

“Dunno. Woke up with it. It tastes good!” 

“That’s nice.” Lacie sighed.

“What are you doing?” Allison asked. 

“Bertie got stuck in his precious machine,” Lacie replied. “Wants me to get him out. Figure I’ll let him stew for a little bit before I actually do.”

“Ugh, Piedmont.” The group collectively said together. No one was particularly fond of Bertrum. He was just a real prick in general. Lacie was one of the few people who could tolerate him. A few more people were coming out of the various rooms that led off of the warehouse. They waved to the small group and continued on. The group waved back before saying goodbye to Lacie and heading out. Despite Thomas’ objections, they were headed for the elevator. Unfortunately, they soon found that that wouldn’t be an option. 

“Well, if we want to get out we should probably take the stairs,” Wally said, staring at the wreck of the elevator. 

“Always knew this thing would crash someday,” Thomas muttered. 

“At least I’m not wearing heels.” Allison and Susie said together. They giggled at the jinx. Thomas couldn’t help but smile a little at this. Wally was already starting up the stairs. It was going to be a long way up.

.

Bertrum didn’t know why he’d woken up in the central column of his carousel and he didn’t particularly care. All he wanted was to get out. It was cramped and dark and his arms were starting to hurt. He’d managed to convince Lacie to help him, but she’d left quite a while ago. He was starting to think she wasn’t coming back. Then again, she always did like messing with him. There was probably a reason she was the only one who'd agreed to get him out. Maybe he’d been a bit too cruel to the workers. He sighed and tried to wriggle around a little. He didn’t like being cooped up like this. All he could do was sit here and wait for Lacie to come help him. He hated depending on people like this.

.

Norman had been surprised that the first thing he heard upon coming back to the waking world was yelling. Specifically, the sound of Shawn Flynn and Grant Cohen arguing. He got up from what appeared to be an operating table and headed out. He had to go down a flight of stairs, but once he did he found a small group of people gathered outside a box. Shawn and Grant were standing in front of the box, yelling at one another. 

“What’s going on here?” Norman asked, pushing through the crowd. 

“Shawn saw someone run into this box and we’re trying to figure out how to get him out,” Grant explained. 

“He took one look at me and bolted!” Shawn said. “I don’t look that bad, do I?”

“You look fine,” Norman assured him vaguely. He went over to the box and peered inside. It was too dark for him to see the person inside, but he could make out a shock of white hair. 

“Hello? Are you alright?” Norman asked. The man inside started to cry as soon as he laid eyes on Norman. 

“What the….?” Norman took a step back. 

“Great, now he’s crying,” Shawn said. “We’re never going to get him out!”

“Mr. Flynn, please calm down.”

.

Sammy was awoken by the gentle sound of whispering. As soon as he opened his eyes, though, the whispering stopped. It looked like he was in the recording booth. How had he ended up there? He sat up and immediately screamed. Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt?! He quickly got up and got a good look at who had been whispering. The members of the band, all equally drenched in ink, had been watching him through the glass of the window. They were now trying desperately to pretend they hadn’t been watching him.

“Which one of you bastards took my shirt?!” He demanded, storming out of the recording booth and making his way over to the band room.

“None of us, sir.” The banjo player, Drake, said. “We all woke up like this.”

“But why am I not wearing a shirt?!” 

“We don’t know.” The piano player shrugged. 

“But we’re really enjoying the view.” The cello player giggled. Sammy went bright red and tried to cover his chest. 

“Sammy? That you?” Jack Fain stuck his head into the band room. “Where’s your shirt?”

“I DON’T KNOW, OKAY?!” Sammy snapped. “I AM VERY UNCOMFORTABLE RIGHT NOW!” 

“Mm.” Jack walked in, looking Sammy over.  “I never knew you were this…You know.”

“None of us did.” 

“I’m getting out of here,” Sammy muttered, bright red, and stormed out of the music department. 

“I’ll come with you!” Jack ran after him. “I’m sorry, Sammy! I didn’t mean to upset you!”

.

When Allison, Susie, Thomas, and Wally finally made their way to level P, the crowd around the box had almost filled the entire floor. 

“What’s going on here?” Wally frowned, chewing on his bone. 

“Mr. Cohen! Mr. Polk!” Allison pushed her way through the crowd. “What’s going on?”

“Some guy shut himself up in the box and we’re trying to get him out,” Norman said. 

“Oh dear.” Allison tried to peek into the box. “Sir? Are you alright?” 

“‘M fine.” The man inside muttered. 

“That voice sounds familiar.” Susie frowned as she drew closer. “Where have I heard it before?” As soon as she stepped into sight, the man in the box let out an ear-piercing shriek. 

“Guess he doesn’t like you,” Shawn said. 

“Yeah, I can understand that.” Susie drew into herself. Allison latched herself to Susie’s side, trying to assure her that everything was going to be okay. Thomas just sort of stood there, hands in his pockets. He wasn’t too terribly interested in the strange man in the box. 

“D’ya think he wants a bone?” Wally asked, sticking the bone through the slat in the box. 

“Boris?” The man asked in a small voice.

“No. Wally.” 

“Boris, you’re alright.” Blue eyes appeared in the slat, pushing the bone away. 

“I just told you, my name’s Wally,” Wally said, taking a step back. 

“I-I’m so glad you’re n-not dead.” The man was starting to cry again, reaching a hand out to touch Wally’s face.

“Yeah, uh, me too.” Wally nodded slowly. “Not being dead is, uh, real great.” Suddenly, a vent cover rocketed across the room, and a bedraggled Joey Drew climbed out. He was considerably thinner than he’d been the last time anyone had seen him, but it was definitely him. 

“Fuck.” Joey looked around at everyone in the room. 

“Hi, Mr. Drew.” The employees said together. 

“What were you doing in the vents, Mr. Drew?” Grant asked, walking over. “Also, I have some serious concerns about our expense reports.” Just then the door to the box burst open and a blue blur passed across the room. The man from the box grabbed Joey by his lapels and hoisted him into the air. 

“JOEY!” 

“Oh! It’s Henry!” Susie said, clapping her hands together. “He looks much older, though.”

“Henry? The co-founder of the studio?” Allison’s eyes widened. “Whoa. I never thought I’d meet him in person.”

“Should we get him offa Joey?” Wally asked. 

“Let him get his aggression out.” Grant and Thomas stopped him. Well, Grant stopped him. Thomas was holding Grant and Shawn’s hands and refusing to let them go. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey's misdeeds are brought to light, and his employees are less than pleased

Everyone let Henry scream at Joey for a few minutes before finally separating the two men. Norman grabbed Henry and Thomas grabbed Joey, with Grant getting in between them. Norman only pulled Henry back, while Thomas held Joey aloft.

“Alright, that’s enough.” He said before turning to Henry. “What are you doing here, Mr. Stein? You quit years ago.”

“And why do you look so old?” Wally asked, only to get the back of his head smacked by Susie.

“You can’t just ask someone that!”

“It’s a legitimate question!”

“Do you…Do you not remember what happened?” Henry asked. “Do you not remember what Joey did to you?”

“What Joey did to us?” The employees looked at each other.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Shawn said. “The bastard’s done a lot to us.”

“What…What **do** you all remember?” Henry asked. “What’s the last thing you all remember happening?” The employees began to whisper amongst themselves. Almost immediately, it was clear that all of them remembered different things. Everyone remembered Susie getting replaced by Allison, but that was where everyone’s memories branched off. A good portion of the employees remembered Susie just…disappearing one day.

“I disappeared?” Susie frowned.

“It was just before Mr. Polk disappeared,” Allison said. “We weren’t on the best of terms at the time, but I **was** pretty worried about you. You’d been acting so strange.”

“Strange how?” Susie asked. She knew she’d been upset about losing her role, but she didn’t remember acting all that different.

“You started spending a lot of time with Joey.” Wally said. “The two of you were pretty much attached at the hip. It was…Kinda creepy to be honest. You two were always in his office, talking.”

“Whenever someone entered, you’d both stop and stare at them.” Grant added. “It was…rather unsettling.” He shivered at the memory. Thomas looked down at Joey, who was trying his very best to make himself smaller. Slowly, while everyone else was talking, Thomas leaned down to whisper in Joey’s ear.

“They might not remember. But I do. I know exactly what you did.” Immediately, Joey stiffened. He didn’t need to see the mechanic’s face to know that Thomas was fixing him with the deadliest glare he could. Norman was also watching Joey, a similar look on his face.

“I don’t remember that at all.” Susie started to chew her lip. Allison took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. She remembered how scary it had been when employees had started disappearing. Not to mention, Sammy had started acting strange. They’d all seen the rift grow between Sammy and Susie as soon as Sammy had told Susie she’d been replaced.

“Do you remember why you disappeared?” Henry asked, looking at Norman. Norman’s expression was solemn, even more so than usual. He nodded. Joey felt his stomach drop. He knew he couldn’t get away from Thomas. He’d never been a physically strong person even before, but he was practically a twig now. Thankfully for him, before Norman could say anything, an irate Sammy burst into the room, followed by Jack, Bertrum, and Lacie. Susie’s breath caught in her throat upon seeing Sammy again. She’d forgotten just how handsome he was. And he wasn’t wearing a shirt either. She bit her lip, starting to fidget with her hands. Wally stared, muttering something that was probably ‘dammit’.

“Joey! What did you do?!” Sammy demanded.

“Hello, Sammy.” Joey smiled nervously, relaxing a bit now that Norman was no longer going to speak. “You seem to be missing your shirt.”

“I’m aware of that!” Sammy’s face was bright red, the color extending up into his ears as well. “Why did I wake up covered in ink without a shirt?!”

“Why do you assume I had something to do with it?” Joey did his best to look innocent.

“When something weird happens around here, you’re usually behind it,” Lacie replied dryly. “Can’t think of any other reason Bertie’d wake up in the column of his ride.”

“Piedmont was stuck in the column of his ride?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “How’d that happen?”

“I don’t know but I want to find out.” Bertrum fixed Joey with a poisonous glare. Henry instinctively took a step away from Bertrum, something which did not go unnoticed by the park designer.

“Who is this?” He asked, pointing to Henry.

“This is Henry Stein.” Grant replied. “Joey’s former business partner.” His hands were shaking a bit, as though he was trying desperately to keep himself together. Henry could only guess that he was remembering what Joey had done to him.

“He looks far too old to have been the Henry that Drew always described,” Bertrum said. He was skeptical, but he had to admit, this man did look like the man in the pictures he’d seen on Joey’s desk.

“He is who he says he is,” Norman said calmly. Bertrum relaxed a little at Norman’s affirmation. He’d always trusted Norman, to a certain extent. Norman, in his opinion, had always been one of the more sensible members of the studio.

“If you’re Henry, then something’s obviously goin’ on here.” Lacie shifted the toothpick she’d been chewing on to the other side of her mouth.

“You’re right.” Henry looked back at Joey. “Something **is** going on. Something most of you don’t seem to remember.”

“What are you talking about?” Allison looked desperately from face to face, searching for any sign of what was happening. Susie’s eyes were still on Sammy. She wanted so badly to run up to him and throw her arms around him, begging for forgiveness. Thomas and Norman looked at each other, exchanging a look of understanding.

“How much does everyone remember about the Ink Machine?” Thomas asked.

“It was loud and messy and got ink everywhere.” Wally wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Those pipes were somethin’ awful, let me tell ya.”

“Everything was always flooding.” Sammy echoed Wally’s distaste. “I had that ugly pump switch in my office because of it.”

“But do you know what it _did_?” Thomas continued. “Do you know what Drew wanted it for?” The majority of the employees fell silent, looking at each other in confusion and a touch of fear. But those who had worked under Thomas…They were silent.

“T-There’s really no need for this.” Joey stammered. “The machine’s been destroyed. You’re all safe and sound. There’s no need to go dragging up the past again.” This gave everyone pause. None of them, besides Henry, had ever seen Joey look genuinely scared before.

“Technically speaking, the machine was just supposed to produce life-sized models of the characters from the cartoons. But what Joey Drew wanted was the bring his creations to life.” Thomas said, his grip on Joey tightening. “He was angry when the first Bendy came out wrong. It didn’t look or behave the way he wanted it to. The problem was that it lacked a soul. Joey’s response?”

“We’ll get them a soul. After all, I own thousands of them.” Henry finished, recalling the words from the audio log. Almost immediately, a memory surfaced in Susie’s mind.

_“I know how much this part means to you, Susie. Alice means a lot to me too. All my characters do! In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I too really believe my characters are more than just drawings. They’re alive. They’re part of us. And I want people to know them as well as I do. I want people to be able to shake their hand, spend an afternoon with ‘em. Love them. Susie, I’ll be straight with you. I’m putting together a small project…A little ceremony. If it works, a lot of dreams will come true. And I want you to be a part of it…I want you to bring Alice to life once again. What do you say?”_

She remembered the way he’d smiled as he’d held his hand out to her. He’d promised her she’d be Alice Angel…She sunk to her knees as the memories came flooding back. Her shoulders began to shake as the tears streamed down her face. Immediately, Sammy was kneeling at her side, asking her what was wrong. She couldn’t form any words, clinging to Sammy in a desperate attempt to make the memories go away. Sammy stiffened a little at this, but nonetheless wrapped his arms around her, patting her back comfortingly. He’d missed her.

“Does that mean…He used **_us_** to give the characters souls?” Allison asked. Judging from what Henry had said and Susie’s sudden distress, she was assuming Joey had tried to use Susie to give a soul to Alice Angel. Both Thomas and Norman nodded. Everyone’s eyes were now on Joey, who just smiled nervously. Their memories were slowly starting to come back now. And they were angry.

“He used us!”

“Were we just tools to you?”

“You bastard!”

Joey shrunk back under the angry tirade of his employees. Wally hung back a bit to comfort Grant, who was having a panic attack, but also to talk with Henry. He remembered the safehouse now, and all the time he’d spent with Henry.

“So, uh, you’re a pretty good card player,” Wally remarked as he and Shawn helped Grant slow his breathing down.

“Thanks.” Henry managed a smile. “You’re not too bad yourself.” They lapsed into silence for a moment or two. Bertrum was leading the tirade against Joey, with Lacie at his side to make sure he didn’t go too far. Norman stood to the side, watching everyone in case punches started flying. Allison had moved over to help Susie, along with Sammy and Jack. Sammy was also clearly angry, but a bit more focused on making sure Susie was alright.

“I’m sorry.” Henry finally said. “About…letting you get taken.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Wally gave him a reassuring smile. “I mean, we fell down an elevator shaft. No one was expecting you to be in top shape immediately after.”

“But I should have-” Henry started to insist that it was his fault, that he was a bad person.

“Henry.” Wally cut him off. “You did everything you could.” Then he turned his attention back to Grant, who was still shaking. He’d started sobbing now, his breathing speeding up.

“Grant, look at me.” Shawn knelt in front of Grant, taking the accountant’s hands in his. “I want you to take some deep breaths, okay?” Grant didn’t immediately acknowledge him, eyes wide behind his glasses.

“Grant,” Shawn repeated, a bit more forcefully. Grant looked up abruptly.

“Take a deep breath,” Shawn said. “Can you do that for me?” Grant nodded slowly, taking a quick shaking breath.

“No, a _deep_ breath, Grant. Like this.” Shawn demonstrated. Grant’s brows furrowed, but he did as Shawn asked. The two of them continued to do this together until Grant seemed more stable.

“There you go.” Wally patted his back. “You’re okay. We’re here for you.”

“I’m sorry,” Grant mumbled, quickly trying to wipe away his tears. “That was terribly unprofessional of me.”

“Hey, you don’t need to apologize to me.” Shawn wrapped an arm around Grant’s shoulder, managing a weary smile. “We all went through a lotta shit.”

“Yeah. We did.” Grant agreed, managing to smile as well. Satisfied that they were alright, Henry stepped away from them. He wasn’t entirely sure what happened now. He knew most of the people in the studio probably had families. But it had been 30 years. Their families had probably moved on without them. Hell, **he’d** moved on without them. Still, they all deserved a chance to get back the life Joey had stolen from them. Henry wasn’t sure what happened now, but he was going to be there for it.  


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linda didn't really expect her husband to come home with a small army of people. But she'll make do.

Linda had been rather worried when she hadn’t heard from her husband in nearly a week. Henry had reassured her that it would be fine. He was just going to check up on Joey at the old studio. Despite the studio having been shut down years ago. Linda loved her husband, really she did, but he could be so reckless sometimes. And Joey had only made it worse. She’d liked Joey well enough. From the moment that she’d met him, she’d known how much he cared about Henry. The two of them had that in common. Which meant she could also tell that he was incredibly jealous of her. She didn’t know much about Joey’s background or his life, but she knew he didn’t have many friends. Despite his charismatic and social demeanor, the only person he ever seemed to spend time with was Henry. On the one hand, they kept each other in check. But on the other hand, they also enabled each other’s worst qualities. Joey let Henry push himself farther than he could go, let him work himself harder than he should have. He was always keeping Henry late, as though trying to hoard him away from the world.

She’d been more than a little relieved when Henry had finally quit. They’d talked a bit about it beforehand so they could both decide on the matter. Well, more than a bit. They’d talked a lot about Henry and his job. Linda knew how much this studio meant to her husband. She knew how much _Joey_ meant to Henry. But this was too much. He was working late almost every day. They barely got to see each other anymore. Henry wasn’t alright. They’d both known that. Thankfully, as time had gone on, Henry’s patience had begun to wear thin. And when Linda suggested he quit, he agreed he would. It hadn’t taken long for him to find a new job after that. He was a very good artist, after all. Linda had set out a small sigh of relief. She’d liked Joey. But she could never shake the feeling that he was altogether more dangerous than Henry ever believed he could be.

So here she was, sitting in the living room, trying to focus on her knitting while worry buzzed in the back of her mind. It had been a week. Henry had been gone for a week. He’d told her it would be a quick trip. The studio wasn’t far. She wanted so badly to go after him but knew it would be better if she didn’t. If the studio was as dangerous as it was in her worst nightmares, she wouldn’t be much use to him.

“Everything will be fine.” She told herself. “Henry knows how to handle himself.” Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. She quickly put her knitting down, running to the window. To her relief, she saw Henry’s car pulling into the driveway. Although, it did look like there were other people in the car with him. And other cars were pulling up as well. It seemed Henry had found some friends at the studio. She went to the front door, rather surprised when she opened it to see people she hadn’t seen in ages piling out of the cars. Sammy Lawrence, Susie Campbell, Wally Franks, Norman Polk, Grant Cohen…She’d thought all of them were dead. No one had heard from them for decades. Before she could ask what was going on, though, Henry was sweeping her up in a hug.

“It’s so good to see you.” He whispered.

“It’s good to see you too.” She laughed, hugging him back. “I was getting a bit worried.”

Henry didn’t let her go for a long time. He had missed her, hadn’t he? She let him hold her for as long as he wanted before eventually drawing away.

“So, would you mind telling me what’s going on?” She asked, gesturing to the people gathering in her living room. Sammy and Susie were latched onto each other on the couch, as were another woman and a man…with a robot arm? Another man was kicking the wall excitedly, exclaiming to a tired looking woman about how good it felt to have legs again. Henry grimaced.

“Let’s…talk in the kitchen.” He suggested.

Fifteen minutes later, Linda was completely caught up and shaking her head. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised. Leave it to Joey to turn to black magic the second his impulse control was gone.

“So, uh, that’s why we have a bunch of people in the living room now.” Henry smiled sheepishly.

“I wish that this was something that surprised me.” Linda sighed.

“Yeah…” Henry glanced back at the group. “I’m…not really sure what to do, honestly. I mean, no one from the studio’s aged in 30 years. They can’t just go back to their lives. And then there’s _Joey_.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Linda assured him, resting her hands on his shoulders. “It’s going to be alright.” She kissed him, smiling gently. Henry’s shoulders, previously hunched, lowered as a contented smile spread across his face.

“Thanks, Lin.” He murmured.

“Now, let’s go greet our guests.” Linda gave him a wink, walking past him and into the living room. Susie, Sammy, and the couple Linda didn’t know were still on the couch. Wally and a man Linda didn’t recognize were cuddled together on the floor along with Grant and another man Linda didn’t know. The man who had been kicking the wall was now seated in an armchair, gesturing excitedly while the tired woman watched him with a small smile. Norman was studying a card pinned to a bulletin board, which Linda quickly was Mary’s wedding announcement. Right next to it was the letter from Helen asking them to come to Mary’s funeral.

“I’m glad she moved on.” Norman smiled softly as Linda stopped next to him. “David’s a good man. I can’t think of a better man to make her happy.”

“She missed you,” Linda said.

“I figured. But I wouldn’t have wanted her to mourn me her entire life.” He reached out to run his fingers over the photograph of Mary and David, both smiling. “Did she die happy?”

“She died in her sleep. She was smiling when they found her.”

“Good.” Norman nodded. His smile was somewhat mournful. He and Henry were about the same age now. It was strange for him to see Linda and Henry so old. He’d always thought of them as youngsters, the same age as his kids.

“I would’ve liked to have been there to put her in the ground.” Norman’s voice was soft, almost inaudible. He sighed, letting his hand fall to his side.

“What am I gonna tell the kids?” He laughed wearily.

“We’ll figure it out.” Linda gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She had to admit this was all a bit out of her depth. But she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to help these people.

“Thank you, Linda.” Norman chuckled. “I appreciate it.” Satisfied, Linda turned away from him, focusing on the others.

“Hello, everyone. Now, I know some of you know me, but for those who don’t, my name is Linda Stein. I’m Henry’s wife.” She said, going to the center of the room so that most of them could see her. “There are some of you I don’t know, so if everyone could just go around and introduce themselves, that would be lovely.”

It took a bit for everyone to introduce themselves, but it did help. Linda learned the couple on the couch were Allison Pendle and Thomas Connor. The man with Wally was Shawn Flynn, and the man with Grant was Jack Fain, who happened to be a friend of Sammy’s. He was delighted to be in a place that didn’t smell like a sewer, which was both flattering and also made Linda feel rather bad for him. The tired woman was Lacie Benton and the man who’d been so excited about having legs again was Bertram Piedmont. Linda had, of course, heard of Bertram. Everyone knew Bertram Piedmont. It was interesting that the stoic man from the papers and the man who was so excited to have legs again were the same person.

Throughout all this, Joey had been hunkered in the corner, essentially isolated from everyone else. No one wanted anything to do with him, so he sat on a pillow in the corner and waited for the tongue-lashing he knew was going to come. Once everyone had gotten introduced, Linda went over and kneeled in front of him.

“You have quite a bit of explaining to do.” She said, smiling tightly.

“Hello, Linda.” He squeaked.

“Hello, Joey.”

“I expect you’re rather angry with me.”

“Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it, Joey.”

Joey let out a small whimper. Linda had always been rather intimidating to him. She’d been a factory worker for the majority of her adult life, and while short in stature she was certainly no waif. She probably could have broken his arm if she’d wanted to, but Linda had never been one for violence.

“I don’t suppose saying I’m sorry would help?” Joey smiled nervously.

“It’s a start,” Linda replied. “However, it’s not going to fix all this.”

“Ah.” Joey’s smile faltered.

“But it’s a start.” To Joey’s surprise, Linda put a hand on his shoulder. She smiled gently, and for a moment Joey thought she might have forgiven him. Then her grip on his shoulder tightened.

“But mark my words, Joseph, if you try any of that shit again, we will turn you over to the police. Do you understand?” Linda’s smile never dropped, which made her even scarier.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Linda stood up, brushing her skirt off. “Now, is anyone hungry?”

“Oh! Me!” Wally scrambled to his feet, unceremoniously dumping Shawn onto the ground. “I feel like I haven’t eaten anything in forever!”

“Are you sure you’re not still Boris?” Sammy asked with a small smirk. Wally stuck his tongue out at the music director.

“You were a wonderful Boris.” Shawn kissed Wally’s cheek. “My little puppy.”

“Hey…” Wally blushed and covered his face. Linda let out a small giggle. It was good to see they were all mostly alright.

“Well, I don’t have any bacon soup, unfortunately,” Everyone in the living room let out an audible sigh of relief. “But I was making some stew before you all arrived.”

“Please tell me it has vegetables,” Grant said from the floor. “I’ve missed vegetables.”

“Yes, it has vegetables,” Linda assured him as she headed back into the kitchen to get them all bowls. She wasn’t sure she had enough bowls for everyone, though.

“After you all eat, we can try contacting your families,” Henry added. A hush fell over the living room at the mention of family. They were all realizing now that 30 years had passed and they’d stayed frozen. Their families had probably mourned them and moved on. The world had changed and they were still the same. Some of the younger members of the studio started crying. Lacie separated herself from Bertram to comfort the young women. She’d always been a bit of a mother hen when it came to the female employees.

“Do you two have any family in the area?” Susie asked, turning to look at Allison and Thomas.

“I…don’t get along with my family.” Allison pursed her lips, turning her gaze downward. “I doubt they missed me.”

“My family’s long gone,” Thomas said. His hand moved to enfold Allison’s, squeezing it gently. Allison smiled softly, squeezing his hand back. They had all the family they needed right here.

“What about you?” She asked, turning to Susie and Sammy.

“My family live in a different state, but…they’re probably pretty worried.” Susie’s face twisted as she began to fidget with her necklace. “I used to send Mama letters all the time but I stopped when things started to get…complicated.” She started to chew on her lip. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain all of this to them.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Sammy assured her.

“You think your parents have been worried?” Thomas asked, inclining his head toward Sammy.

“Almost certainly.” Sammy chuckled awkwardly. “My mother got worried when I didn’t call at least once a week. She’s probably not going to be happy with me.”

“My family’s all back in Ireland.” Shawn popped in, sitting down with a bowl of stew. “Wouldn’t be surprised if they all think I’m dead at this point.”

“My family’s pretty big, but they had to notice I was gone.” Wally sat down beside him. “At least one of them had to be looking for me.” Grant, still on the floor, was silent. His relationship with his parents wasn’t the best. He expected they were more than happy to have him gone. His sister would be happy to see him, though. Her son was probably grown by now.

“Your mom’s going to kill me.” Jack laughed, nudging Sammy’s leg with his foot. Jack’s father had died when they’d both been young, which had led to Mrs. Fain and Mrs. Lawrence becoming friends and Sammy and Jack practically inseparable.

“She’s going to kill both of us.” Sammy laughed weakly. “Your mom will be pretty mad too.”

“You think anyone in your family took over the business?” Lacie had settled in the armchair while Bertram paced. He wanted to keep moving after having been still for so long.

“I would expect so.” He nodded, allowing a smile to play on his lips. “I do hope Charlotte surprised all who would have underestimated her.”

“She’s certainly something, your sister.” Lacie laughed softly. Bertram didn’t ask about her family. She didn’t talk about them. If she wanted to tell him about them, then she would. But he wouldn’t press her.

Norman stayed by the bulletin board, staring at the pictures. His children were in some of the photographs, smiling and laughing. They had already been grown when he’d gone away. He was glad he had gotten to see them grow up. He had had many good years with his children and with his wife. Still, he wished he could have been there to lay his Mary to rest. His gaze stopped on a picture in the corner. His children; Helen, Elias, Nicholas, and their children, all grown, along with children he assumed were his great-grandchildren. A smile spread across his face. His family wasn’t gone. He was excited to meet them.


	4. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was Day 13 of the Ink Demonth, but I thought it fitted here too. Might add in something in later chapters to fit with this.

They all slept together after getting out. Henry and Linda had tried to set them up in separate rooms, with a few sleeping in the living room, but they’d all sort of migrated together to sleep in a big pile on the living room floor. Henry certainly wasn’t going to stop them. They seemed happier that way. For many of the former employees, they weren’t used to not having a dozen voices screaming in their mind anymore. The silence felt…unnatural. They couldn’t stand it. They couldn’t stand being alone in their heads. They needed to be close to one another. Even when they weren’t sleeping, it wasn’t uncommon to find the former employees cuddled up together while they read or played games together. They felt a need to touch each other, just to remind themselves that they were out of the studio, that this was real. 

Sleeping in a big pile also made it easier when they woke up screaming. At least one of them woke up screaming every night from nightmares. When this happened, those who had awoken comforted whoever was having a breakdown this time. There was usually a lot of hugging and quiet whispers to reassure the sufferer that they weren’t alone anymore. Sometimes they got up to make the sufferer some hot cocoa or tea.

Whenever Sammy woke up screaming, he had to count his fingers. He wouldn’t allow himself to be touched until he’d counted his fingers to make sure he had the proper amount. He always had to make sure. There had to be ten. Counting his fingers also distracted him from his dreams filled with his sacrificed friends. He had hurt them, killed them, all for a demon that had destroyed him in the end. Susie often helped him when he was crying too much to see his fingers properly. In return, Sammy held her and stroked her hair when she woke up screaming at the memories of being that twisted Alice Angel. She’d sob apologies into his chest, barely coherent and barely registering what was going on around her. He sang lullabies to her when it got especially bad. It helped him as well. 

Tom most often woke up clutching the stump where his left arm had once been as if he half expected that there would be something there. He didn’t wake up screaming or crying. When he woke up, it was in a cold sweat and ready for a fight. He didn’t tell anyone what he dreamed of, but Allison had a few ideas. She knew of his guilt regarding his part in the downfall of the studio and surviving in that hellhole after the monsters had taken over had left its mark on everyone. She was the only one who could ever calm him down at these moments. He pushed everyone else away, both physically and metaphorically. He reverted to being silent when this happened, forgetting that he had a voice once more. Allison wrapped her arms around him and told him it was alright. That they were safe. Tom did the same to her when she woke up crying at the memories of the Ink Demon plaguing her every waking moment in the studio.

Wally pretended he was fine during the daytime, but at night it was hard to hide the scars the studio had left on his psyche. He woke up crying and begging for mercy. Everyone knew who he was begging for mercy from. Susie tried to pretend she didn’t hear his tearful pleas. Shawn held him as the former janitor thrashed about, trying desperately to escape from an enemy only he could see. The toymaker didn’t have too many nightmares himself. The only good thing that came from being a Butcher Gang clone was that he hadn’t had enough sapience to retain many memories of the experience. The only things that ever came to him were vague memories of pain and cold. Sometimes he saw the mangled face of Malice Angel in his dreams or that grinning demon. But it was mostly just darkness.

Grant and Lacie were much the same in terms of their memories of being trapped in the ink. Grant’s nightmares were predominantly filled with his experience prior to being sacrificed to the ink. He was drowning in expense reports. The numbers didn’t add up. None of them added up. Joey’s figure loomed over him, always smiling, always watching. He had to make this work somehow. He had to. He couldn’t disappoint Joey. Joey would hurt him. Oh God, it was all too much. Jack comforted him as best he could. Grant liked just having him there. He didn’t want to talk, he just wanted to have Jack there so he could hold him. Jack didn’t mind. His own nightmares dealt mostly with his sacrifice. Like the Butcher Gang members, he remembered very little about being an ink monster. 

Lacie told everyone she didn’t dream of the studio, but she did. Her dreams weren’t about herself, though. They were about Bertram, trapped in that damned machine. She dreamed of him alone, crying out, begging for someone,  ** _anyone_** , to come and find him. He’d been by himself for so many years, trapped in that room. That was what he dreamed of too. Whenever he woke up crying he would latch himself onto Lacie’s arm, gripping her tightly as if he was afraid she wasn’t real. She ran one hand through his hair, whispering to him that she was there and that this was indeed real. Normally, Bertram would have hated for so many people to see him in such a state. In this case, though, it made him feel better to have so many other people there. He was terrified of being alone again. 

Norman was possibly the only one who woke up in physical pain. The modifications that had been made to him had left physical scars that still hurt. The doctors at the hospital were almost certain they’d got all the machinery out of him, but there was a distinct possibility they’d missed something. He dreamed of dark hallways, of slogging through ink. One foot in front of the other over and over and over again. Never stopping, never resting. More than anything else, he was tired. He didn’t have the energy to be angry anymore. 

Sometimes Henry would join their sleep pile. His time in the studio had been brief compared to theirs, but he too dreamed of the horrors he’d witnessed. Linda always told him it was alright when he woke up with his nightmares, but he still felt bad at continually interrupting her sleep. The former employees made room for him every time. Wally often latched onto Henry was well, finding comfort in the memory of the time they’d spent together in the safe house.

The worst of their pain was behind them, but they knew the emotional trauma would linger for years to come. Physical injuries healed but emotional injuries were much harder to get rid of. For now, though, they had their sleeping pile and they had each other.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this months back, so it's got some divergence from the main game. This became one of the most popular things I've ever written on Tumblr, so I thought I'd move it here and maybe write more for it. I edited it a little.


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